Who Wants To Live Forever?
by aniratac.anna ft. Nofrure
Summary: A vampire that fears eternity without love, is waiting for a vision to come true. A scientist unveils the secret of Immortality that is coveted by humans and vampires. What if forever didn't have to be such a long time? E&B. Love/conspiracy/comedy.
1. Prologue

**AN: Here is our new story! **

**This is a collaboration story written by aniratac(dot)anna and Nofrure. **

**At the bottom you can find more clarifications on the story. Right now we just want to present you, FF world, our new baby! **

**Here we go...**

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Prologue**

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_It's true what's said… the last seconds of your life are the longest and most complete you ever experienced, they are filled with flashes of every meaningful moment you ever lived, _

_First day of school…_

_ …camping in the woods with Dad…_

_ …first kiss…_

_ …graduation…_

…_winning first place in a fishing contest…._

_ …first love…_

_ …marriage…_

…_seeing your baby feed for the very first time…_

_ …watching her growing, albeit a little clumsily…_

…_pride in your child's accomplishments…_

_ …true love._

_And surprisingly, you also picture the moments you hoped to see and never will have the chance,_

_ Seeing your baby girl find love…_

_ …walking her down the aisle…_

_...grandchildren._

My name is Charlie Swan. I am 46, and a Head Researcher for the Department of Biomedical Research and Genetics at the National Institute of Health. This is actually the sugar-coated version of my life, the truth is that I've worked for the Pentagon since my late twenties on several top secret projects.

_Oh! The Projects._

The Projects that brought me prestige, wealth, and respect from my partners were the same ones that caused me death when they meant to preserve life. _I guess that backfired on me, huh?_

I exhale slowly, for what I know it will be the last time, as I stare at the clouded sky.

The atmosphere is heavy with humidity and Charlie's moistened eyes match his surrounding environment. His bullet-trespassed body is as cold as the fertile soil where he lays still, praying silently to an unknown god for his little girl.

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**AN: **

**Hello! We hope you liked the prologue, and the 1st chapter will be up as soon as possible. **

**Firstly we want to thank our wonderful Beta Reader - adt216. She is awesome. Really! We thought our 1st chapter was so well written, and imagine our shock when we got it back and saw a lot more suggestions than we thought possible. Well, it was a shock, yes, but made us realize how important she will be, so that our story has the quality it should. **

**Some clarifications that might be useful:**

**1 - Nofrure is the one writing EPOV.**

**2 - aniratac(dot)anna is the one writing BPOV. **

**3 - The updating schedule - At the moment we're thinking about updating twice a month. We'll try to maintain this schedule as much as possible. If changes are necessary, we'll inform you.**

**Thank you all for reading this, the next one should be here still tonight. **

**Please tell us what you thought about it, we'll apreciate it.**

**Vera and Catarina**


	2. Chapter 1 EPOV

Chapter 1

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_EPOV_

I stood frozen across the river that flowed softly just a few yards from our home in Forks. We've been living here for the last six months. The temperature was particularly low this time of year and I breathed out slowly. That simple gesture heightened my awareness of my lack of humanity, my body was cold and so was the air I exhaled. I blinked, focusing on a swaying leaf in a nearby tree. There wasn't much holding it in place and when a stronger breeze was felt, it was swiftly detached, rolling in the air without care, lifeless and unaware.

I was taken away from my meaningless and void contemplation by a wave of pure, directionless lust. Apparently I wasn't far enough from home and although I was trying very hard not to voice the foreign thoughts in my head, Jasper made it impossible for me to ignore them.

Oh Great. I just want to go get my car, but I know they need privacy. They were hardly ever alone now. There was always someone else in the house or they felt the need to chaperone me those days everywhere, anywhere. I suspected they were making the most of my hunting trip, for they had the house to themselves for the first time in weeks. Rosalie and Emmett were vacationing somewhere in Europe; Carlisle was still at the hospital and Esme was out shopping. Alice's attention was so otherwise engaged she didn't even see me arriving.

Everyone was walking on egg shells around me since Jasper started feeling waves of depression oozing out of me. I wasn't depressed; I just didn't feel much. The days and nights passed by in a timeless circle, mingling so they weren't discernable anymore. Which was which? Sometimes I just couldn't find it in me to care.

Another wave lust that no cold shower could resolve rolled out of the house. It was unsettling, to say the least, to experience that towards your sister. I was nauseous, and if I could vomit, I would. I never felt lust with that kind of intensity. I have feeble memories of experiencing it when I was human. It was strong enough to make me arrange a marriage although I never had the chance to - I died first. That was one less human experience I had to remember.

According to what I was able to summon from my experiences these past decades, no human was able to feel what I was feeling now through Jasper. No human could muster that kind of love, passion and devotion for another being. That was the only blessing given to a vampire, and eternity paled in comparison. It was the ticket, God even gave us a concession on Earth since Heaven itself was probably barred to us.

Each second of this existence made me aware that not only I was deprived of my humanity forever, but I was also denied love for eternity or until I ceased to exist. I was envious of them and ashamed of my true feelings.

I needed to run! Only a few seconds later, was stopped by the force of Alice´s thought.

"Edward, they´re coming," she nearly screamed in my head.

I turned around immediately towards the house. Alice´s thoughts were going so fast that even I had trouble reigning them in. The bits of her vision that she was revising in her head were scattered.

"Who´s coming?" I heard Jasper asking her worriedly."Alice, baby?"

_The Volturi._

When I got home, they were both presentable and standing in the living room by the window waiting for me. They looked up at me simultaneously as I stepped through the door. Their fingers were intertwined and Alice's fingers pressing almost painfully into Jasper's hand.

"They're coming for you. They'll be here in fifteen minutes," Alice stated simply. I already knew who was coming.

_They're late_, I thought to myself, _I need to put an end to this_.

"Stop acting like a martyr, Edward," Alice admonished me, "she'll come. I've seen it. You need patience."

"Haven't I been patient for the last hundred years, Alice? I've waited, guarded myself for someone I'm not sure has even been born because you had a vision twenty four years ago that I wouldn't have to spend eternity alone." I felt my temper escalating. "Is she even real, Alice? Is she a product of your own imagination that you created in order to keep me sane? To keep me alive?"

I sensed a wave of calmness hitting me. Twenty five years ago, planned on going to the Volturi. Being a vampire wasn't something I chose for myself. I needed to take down the monster that I carried inside of me. In my days of rebellion, when blood lust was my dominant motivator, I became addicted to the strength, the power of my new body. The exclusively animal diet that Carlisle enforced upon me during the first years after being changed was hard for me to adapt. It never seemed enough to quench my thirst. I remember the first time I took a human life. It was in the night of the 24th of December, 1945, he was young and came home after two years of fighting in France in WWII. His thoughts were those of a madman, of someone who's seen too much, too young. I wondered what was a soldier doing, drunk and wallowing in self pity the day before Christmas. That's when I picked up the tenor of his thoughts - _I want her_.

I watched him, as he followed the young lady on her way home, keeping a calculated distance behind her. She couldn't have more than fifteen years old. When they reached a deserted street, he gagged her with his hand and dragged her into a dark alley. She bit his hand trying to make her escape, making him curse loudly while trying to suppress her screams that pierced the night. He pushed her harshly against a wall, which made her trip and fall. He hovered above her; his hand was again covering her mouth. She was fighting him, kicking and punching in the darkness without aiming. He hit her in the face, in order to break the last of the will she had to defend herself. I knew at that point that I was the only one around and that I had to do something. They were in the dark and she would not be able to recognize me. That was all I needed to convince myself that intervening was the right thing to do since I wouldn't jeopardize my or any of my family's safety by doing so.

She was crying under him. Her white dress was torn. His left hand gripped viciously her thigh while his right hand was groping her left breast. As I stepped closer the scent hit my nostrils, his right, bitten hand was still bleeding, tainting the soft, white dress underneath him. I didn't have time to process my next actions. I yanked him out off her and drained him right there, in the dark alley, in front of an innocent child.

She ran away, sobbing, her hands holding her dress in place to cover as much as she could. Her thoughts were incoherent, and I barely registered them. I found a way to quench my thirst, and it took me forty years to stop. When my vigilante days were finally over, all I kept from them was the filthy blood of murderers and rapists running through my veins. I realized I wasn't any better. I wanted to put an end to the guilt, to the loneliness I felt. I wanted to silence forever the monster that roared inside me. Twenty five years ago, I went to the Volturi to have my wishes fulfilled. Aro found that killing me was a waste of a very precious gift and tried to convince me out not to go through with it. Carlisle flew to Volterra and convinced me to come back home, that Alice needed to show me something, and if my wishes remained the same, he would help me to achieve my goal. I changed my mind the moment I saw a vision of a golden eyed brunette smiling at me - my mate. I waited; I worked in every way to find my penitence, to be worthy of love, of her love. Twenty five years passed slowly, filled with emptiness. I searched in every vampire's and human's mind for her. I traveled all over the world looking but couldn't find her. She was the mirage in the desert that was my life and I was beginning to wonder if she was only that: an illusion.

_They're here._

I nodded towards Alice. It was time.

There was a timid knock on our door after which three vampires entered without waiting for a response. We all stood still, waiting for them to start.

"Greetings, young ones," Aro said smiling, "long time no see."

"Aro, how do you do?" I asked, bowing my head slightly without taking my eyes off him, as he never took his eyes off Alice.

_So this must be the clairvoyant. I wonder if they saw us coming. They don't seem too surprised to see us._

"I'm all right, thank you. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Of course, Aro. This is Alice and her mate, Jasper," I said pointing to them.

He nodded towards them.

"I would be delighted to get to know you a little better," he said looking straight at Alice, "you have a very interesting gift. Your company would be treasured in Volterra."

_Edward, what does he want with Alice_? Jasper was starting to panic.

"Are you here for Alice, Aro?" I asked trying to maintain a calm façade.

"Maybe. But we'll see about it later." He let the idea sank in before continuing, "But my first reason to come was because I need you, Edward." He paused. "I think I saw a waterfall a few miles from here. Would you like to accompany me? I'm sure Jasper and Alice would love to show your beautiful house to Jane and Alec."

It was not like I had a choice.

_Please be careful, Edward, Jasper and I'll stay here. We'll be fine._

"Shall we?" I asked, walking at a human pace towards the door.

"Please lead the way."

We ran to the place calculated precisely to be out of the vampire hearing range. I waited for him to start…

"You live among humans," he stated simply.

"Yes, but we are careful to keep to ourselves. No one suspects anything about us, about the existence of our kind," I said defensively. _Where was this conversation taking us?_

"I believe you. You're very successful at it," he mused.

"At what?"

"Posing as human. It always intrigued me why Carlisle even bothered. I was surprised to find out that your way of living survived. But, I'm glad it did. It will be of great value for our kind."

_I need your services._

"I'm not joining your guard. We had this conversation twenty five years ago," I snapped.

"No need to be hasty in your assumptions, young one," he said in a patronizing tone, "you won't be joining our guard. That's not why I need you. I have a proposition for you, which is too enticing for you to resist. I need you to hear me without interruption."

I nodded in agreement. It was not like I had a choice with the spawn of evil in form of the twins that were currently at home with Jasper and Alice.

"First of all, you have to pledge secrecy. For what I'm about to tell you has the potential to generate chaos within our kind."

"You have my word." I was very intrigued and he knew that he had my attention. He was making a conscious effort to conceal some of his thoughts.

"You see, Edward, some humans are aware of our existence. Pacts have been made throughout the centuries to assure peaceful collaboration between our kind and the humans. Many leaders gained our favors in return for their loyalty to us. We had some control over the world. Then industrialization came, followed by the baby boom." he chuckled at his own joke," We were pleased at that turn of events. There were more to feed from. In the 20th century, the humans started to look at science as their new religion. There were serious scientific developments impelled by both of the World Wars and the Cold War. We have been following their development closely. Our true nature was never safer than they believe we were mythical creatures created in the ignorant minds of their ancestors. It came to my attention though that they have been studying us, mostly for military purposes. During the Cold War, they tried to create a new generation of super soldiers using our venom. It was juvenile for them to think they would be able to create tame newborns. We were forced to intervene, two of their so-called soldiers killed 27 humans in a little less than a week in Texas. " His face was disgusted at the thought.

"I had no idea," I stated simply.

"Few know. But this isn't all, and now I'm going to tell you the crux of it. In summary, after the first war in Iraq, the US government focused their attention on the old project of super soldiers. The technology was more advanced so their chances of succeeding improved greatly when compared with the rudimentary 70's genetics' labs they had initially. They discovered that our venom contains a virus that alters completely human DNA. They thought that if they were able to understand how it works they'd be able to use it. For years they had no real breakthrough in discovering a safe way to use it. They had severe budget cuts and kept only one department. To keep things undercover, they told the staff of the laboratory that the virus was used during the Cold War against the US as a biological weapon and that they needed to sequence it and find an antidote. The single host to the virus is _Homo Sapiens Sapiens_, so as you can imagine the scientists had very little to work with since they were prohibited from testing anything on humans. One man though, Charlie Swan, was able to develop a molecule that allegedly inhibited the development of the virus. I don't know what happened to him. From what I was able to gather, he disappeared, taking everything about his research with him," he paused breathing in slowly, "not even Demetri can track him…"

"So there's a cure for vampirism?" My voice was shaking at the possibility.

"Maybe, I'm not sure." He looked down at his own hands, pondering what to say next.

"Why are you telling me this?" And that was the real question.

"I need your help. If the humans find a way to control the virus, change it, we'll be at their mercy. The world as we know it will surely be endangered, you understand that ,Edward?"

I nodded. Was it really possible for a cure? My mind almost spiraled at the thought. _What if…_

"Good. Charlie Swan has a daughter, Isabella Swan. She's brilliant, for a human, and she was invited to continue her father's research. I need you to find out what she knows."

"How?"

I asked a little annoyed, feeling like a mere pawn in his hands. I had no intentions of becoming one of the Volturi's spies.

" You've been in college before. You're accustomed to that little human charade your coven keeps. Your gift is valuable, and it may be useful in this particular situation. None of our special abilities have worked on her. I tried personally before coming to you." That peaked my curiosity towards the girl, but I decided not to mention it. I had to maintain my indifferent pose.

"I have no interest in becoming your spy, Aro. Even if I were to accept your proposition, how could I go unnoticed there, when they know that I'm a vampire?"

"No one in that department has the slightest idea of what the virus really does. None of them believe in vampires. They still think the virus is just a biological weapon. I'm sure you'll be hired. Fortunately for us, the director of the department is acquainted with Carlisle." I frowned at him.

_This can't be good._

"And what about that girl, Isabella? What do you want me to do with her? I don't kill innocents, and I won't be part of anything that will jeopardize the lives of innocents," I told him truthfully. "I have my share of human blood in me. No more."

"I have no intention of doing anything to the girl," _for the time being of course_, "I even think she would become a very intriguing immortal. For the time being, I just need to know what is going on in her pretty head."

It was time to get this over with.

"Aro, my will hasn't changed in the past 25 years. Let's not waste your time anymore." I kneeled in front of him.

"I won't kill you, young one. I need you. Your self-pity would be laughable if it wasn't in the way of my needs."

His hand grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him directly in his crimson eyes.

"I will not tolerate your insubordination. You may not value your own life, but I know the ones you love." His eyes were cold, and his tone threatening.

_Alice_, we thought at the same time.

"I'll be fair, besides there's a lot for you to gain. If there's a cure and you wish to go back to a petty human existence, I'll allow it. If you want to put an end to your life then, you can do it with your own hands. I'm curious if given limited time, you would still do it." He was musing aloud.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked suddenly, his well composed mask faltering.

I was aware he was trying very hard not to think about something, but I could tell he saw this "cure" as a potential and serious threat to his power. What surprised me the most was that neither Marcus nor Caius probably didn't know anything about this, otherwise Aro wouldn't be standing here, in front of me, alone. That possibility made me grow even more suspicious.

_What is he not telling me?_

"We do." I swallowed hard, my tone bitter. I stood up and faced him directly.

"You report only to me. None of this can be of public knowledge. You know what would be the consequences for your disobedience," he stated sharply.

"I do. I have only a couple of conditions, if I'm doing this."

"I'll concede within reason." He eyed me suspiciously.

"If there's a cure, I would like to offer a choice to my family on that matter."

"Consider it granted. What else?"

"I'm not killing anyone for you, and after this, you will no longer have any claim over me or any of my family members."

"If they don't break the law, I don't see any problem complying with that." He smiled. "We have a deal then. Let's get back to the house. I'm sure Jane and Alec are a little bored already."

"When do I start?"

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**AN:**

**What do you think so far? Leave us a review to let us know what's on your mind. We´re making a real effort to write and bring this story to life so we would love to have your feedback.**

**Thank you so much ****adt216 for helping us out, really!**

**If you're interested check out our "solo flights":**

**The Heiress of Lord Henry More by Nofrure**

**Mia Bella Principessa by aniratac(dot)anna**

**Disclaimer: we don't own Twilight…**

**See you soon,**

**Vera and Catarina**


	3. Chapter 2 BPOV

_Chapter 2_

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_**Bella**_

_Another day of work. Ugh! Don't get me wrong! I love my job; I really do... It's just that it frustrates me to no end that my intelligence is not enough to find the answers I'm looking for, since unfortunately I also have to take into account the rules of life. _

_I am Isabella Swan, daughter of the famous researcher Charlie Swan. I know it's not nice to boast __about yourself, but in order to describe to you a little of who am I, I have to. _

_Just like my father, I have worked as a head researcher in the Biomedical Research and Genetics Department of the __National Institute of Health__ for the past three years, since finishing my doctorate in virology from Harvard.__ You should be warned: I'm only 23. Yes, you're right to wonder. My IQ? 188. I'm registered at MENSA, and was told that I am actually one of the youngest and most intelligent women in United States_. _My childhood wasn't normal, although I can't say I have complaints about it. My mother left Dad and me when I was five. Dad had just started his job here, so we moved into one of the integrated apartments. I have lived all my life inside a lab, which is why instead of Barbies and Polly Pockets, all I've ever played was with goblets, Petri plates and inoffensive pigments or other biomaterials Dad gave me. It was so fun! Fortunately, I never blew up the lab! _

I'm brought out of my musings by the insistent shrill of my office phone. In my haste to get to it, I accidentally spill my coffee all over the papers.

"Shit! I should be used to this by now. Oh, Bella! Will you ever learn that your disastrous coordination attacks when you least expect it?" I rant while I try to multitask – picking the phone and using the ultra absorbent paper, I always have at hand.

"Hello?" I ask while frantically shaking my last notes in hopes the ink doesn't dissolve.

"Good morning, Dr. Swan," answered Amelia's sweet, teasing voice.

"It was..." I sigh, and it only takes me a couple of seconds to hear Amelia laugh.

"Oh no! Please don't tell me you spilled the coffee all over your notes again? You are incorrigible, Bella. Haven't you learned yet?"

"Ha ha ha. Thanks though Mia. I was just distracted and your call scared the hell out of me, thus the spilling. Anyway, moving onto more pressing issues... To what do I owe your call this morning?"

"Sorry, but I really can't resist laughing at your antics. I have a memo for you. The Director requested your presence in his office as soon as possible. I have to get another call, so have a nice day and don't forget we're having dinner at my house tonight."

"Okay thank you. And I'll try not to forget, but maybe it would be better if you remind me later..." I add sheepishly. It's not that I'm a forgetful person, but sometimes I'm so entranced by my work that I forget there's a whole world outside the lab.

"Sure. You know I will, my dear. Talk to you later," The call was disconnected.

Although it's common for the Director to request my presence, I'm still a little reticent about this request: it's so unexpected.

I pick a couple more ultra absorbent paper towels, and finish cleaning the remnants of the coffee spill incident, noticing my desk is now completely sticky. I grab my stack of smeared coffee papers, my Blackberry and exit my office. On the way to my morning lab round, I call the cleaning service so that my office will be clean when I return to it. The chipper woman tells me they're on their way, and I secretly wonder if by now my office is included in the morning, afternoon and night cleaning routes. I snort to myself, thinking that it's not entirely impossible...

The morning round was eventful. It seems one of the experiments is finally working. _Yeah!_

"Hello again, Mia," I say as I approach the reception desk of the main building. "Is Howard available for me?" Mia immediately stands up and leaves the desk to greet me with a bone-crushing hug.

"My dear!" she greets before also kissing my cheek, as usual, and then she proceeds to take a step back and look at me from head to toe. "You're not burned from the coffee spill this morning, are you?"

"No, no. Mia, I'm all right. The coffee was already cold."

"Thank God, my darling! Nevertheless, you're so skinny, Bella! I'm so glad you're dining with me tonight… you're all skin and bones." She starts gushing how I was just like my father; that once in the lab we both seemed to forget there was an actual real world outside of it.

Mia always behaves like this. She's like my step mother/best friend. It was she who took me to my first day of high school at nine. She's also the one who taught me how to use pads and then tampons. She _tried _to teach me how to cook (_tried_ being the imperative word in this sentence). I have to say that it must have been the most challenging task she ever gave me! Seriously! The first two weeks, I managed to burn five of her pans without any chance of salvage. However, Mia's funniest quirk, is that she treats Dad and me as if we're both her children; Dad once even got a time out! It was awesome… I still pester him about it. It's actually the best blackmail material I have.

"Sure, Mia. I'll be there!" I shouted as I moved further in the hallway. "Nine right?" I added with a smirk.

"Not nine! Eight! And clear that smirk off of your face, missy…" she huffed indignantly. I just laughed and continued moving. At the end of the hall, I reached Howard's door and knocked. Howard Carter was the Director of the NIH. He's been a friend of my father's every since I was a little girl. The two of them used to fish together once a month.

"Come in." I heard the muffled invitation.

"Hello, Howa… How are you?" I swiftly changed my dialog, as I realized Howard was not alone in his office; and based on the smirk on Howard's face, he noticed it too. "You requested my presence?"

"Dr. Swan! Welcome! May I introduce you to Dr. Carlisle Cullen?" he asked mentioning the man sitting in front of him.

"Oh! My pleasure!" I shook his hand, noticing how cold they were. _Weird… but then it was winter, and very, very cold outside…_ "Please call me Bella. Which field do you research?" Dr. Cullen and Howard both chuckled lightly. My face must have shown my confusion because Dr. Cullen quickly explained.

"No, no! I'm a medical doctor…" I instantly blushed at his remark. _Of course! Only you, Bella Swan, would automatically think he has a PhD instead of a MD degree! _

"Right…" I said awkwardly. "I'm sorry, but those are kind of rare around here… although some may say it should be necessary due to the quantity of injuries I self-inflict." The three of us laughed at my comment, and after a moment, I finally observed the good doctor in front of me. He was breathtaking… _and once more, I, being Bella Swan in all my glory, opened my mouth to talk when I should really insert a foot in there._

"Wow. Your genes are spectacular; I've never seen such amazing eye color… they're gold," and cue to one of my worst blushes… _Oh please, find me a big, black hole where I can hide myself. _

"Uh… Thank you. It's a family trait, actually." It seems that Howard, sensing the discomfort of his guest promptly changed the course of the meeting.

"Well, I think it's time we talk about business. Bella, Carlisle is a friend of mine from college. We were colleagues until junior year at Dartmouth, before he transferred to Harvard," he explained, and then he turned to Dr. Cullen. "And I must say my friend that the years have been very, very kind to you. You barely have any gray hairs, and I can't even see any wrinkles."

"Oh wrinkles… That was actually Esme's fault; she made me try Botox… You should have seen me a month ago!" Their exchange made me jealous of their friendship, since I had no one to do that with since college.

In college, I was what you could call a loner. It's not that I was shy, but I just liked my space too much, and so usually tended to stay by myself. During undergrad, I only had one friend, as opposed to the hundreds of... well not enemies _per se_, but certainly not friends either. Those were the ones that made my life hell. I was picked, pranked, and many other things just because I was the little genius of barely fifteen that shouldn't be there.

Her name was Angela.

She was almost a carbon copy of me, physically, and we discovered after a few months of friendship, psychologically, too. She was five years older than I was, and that had repercussions on our relationship, as we usually thought more about each other as sisters instead of friends.

She was amazing, caring, compassionate and intelligent - I could actually hold a stimulating conversion with her for hours; her witty persona that gathered her admirers and friends, some of which I inherited by association. She was the one who helped me, and didn't judge me from the very first day.

However, as someone once said, all good things come to an end. I still remember that day as if it all happened just a couple of seconds ago.

The 21st of March, supposedly the first day of spring... Nevertheless, it was pouring water from the skies. She had gone out with her boyfriend Ben in a date to celebrate their anniversary, and I stayed at the apartment we shared, studying of course, and waiting for her to return and tell me all about the proposal I knew Ben had prepared for her.

They never came.

At first, I thought they did a detour and stayed at some motel just to be safe, but it never happened. The storm was so bad that some lightning hit a tree near the road. The tree fell and Ben tried to avoid it, but it was no use. Angela apparently died instantly, since the tree caught her side of the car. Ben survived for a few days in a coma at the hospital. As they say, two souls, truly soul mates, never survive long enough without the other. After a week when he finally woke up, no one had to tell him; but he knew without a doubt that she was no longer alive.

The agony I saw in his eyes that day made me want to vanish and I knew then, no matter what the cost or the duration that I wanted a love as true as theirs someday. I, as well most of the hospital staff, still don't know how it was possible, but Ben died a few hours later from a heart attack.

Since then, I never had a single friend as close as they were. I have Amelia and Howard, whom I affectively call my godparents, but that was exactly what they were: wonderful, much older friends that behave like another set of parents. I love them so much, but I miss having someone my age whom I can befriend. I was reminded of where I was by a throat clearing. It was Howard, who quickly realized what I was thinking, I guess by seeing the longing in my eyes, as he was to it by now, after all these years.

"Bella, as I was saying before, Cullen came here to ask me a favor. It seems one of his children is finishing his master's program and needs a lab to do his thesis. Carlisle, please explain the situation, it's easier." Carlisle turned to me and, smiling, started explaining that his older son, Edward, always wanted to work in the investigation field, and that during his master's, he came across the field of virology, which seemed to interest him. Carlisle then remembered his friend, Howard, and decided to ask if he had any available positions. That was where I entered, since the lab was my responsibility.

"So Bella, if you have no objection, I'll accept his proposition. You need someone to fill the recently vacated position, and if Edward is anything like his father, then you'll be well served." Howard looked at Carlisle, seeing if he had something more to add.

"Well, I must say, my son is worse than me. I lost count the times he stayed awake at night studying…"

"Okay. He can meet me at the lab this afternoon at three. No tardiness, please."

* * *

_Oh my God! Who the hell is that? Oh no, oh no! He is coming my way... and frowning. Do I look bad? Oh, please don't tell me I look like a haystack. Where in Heaven's name is a mirror when I most need it? _

I started waving my fingers through my hair as the mesmerizing stranger made his way over to me, still frowning... _but he still looks so beautiful..._

_**Bella snap out of it! Don't make a fool of yourself. **_

_Oh come on, just one more look at the Greek god incarnate... _

I raised my head again but instead of seeing his whole face, my eyes focused on his and... Cue to the full panic attack.

The God was instantly by my side, which only helped to increase the beats of my heart, and by the look on his face, I swear they were so loud he could hear them.

"Are you alright, Miss?" _Oh, Jesus! Could this be worse? _The guy couldn't have any flaws, like an incredibly acute and girly voice? _Why is the universe against me?_ My breaths kept accelerating and the only thing I was able to utter before everything went black was, "asthma... bomb."

* * *

**AN: **

**I hope you guys liked our Bella, I personally had a blast while I wrote her. **

**I confess that, both Vera and I, got a little disappointed with the lack of response we had from you guys on this story, but we hope you get addicted to it in time... **

_So, what did you guys thought about Bella and Edward's meeting? _

**See you next time! :P**

**Vera and Catarina**


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